Facebook User Ends Up in Lube Ad Without Consent

How would you feel if you became the unofficial spokesperson for a water-based lubricant? That too a jaw-dropping 55-gallon drum of lubricant? None too pleased would be how Nick Bergus felt when he saw Amazon.com turn his Facebook post into a ‘sponsored story’ (an ad basically).

It all started when Bergus came across the huge drum of lube on Amazon and decided to share the product link on his Facebook profile as a joke. Harmless fun, right? But a week later, Bergus’ friends inform him that they now see his Facebook share as an ad beside their news feed!

Even though the ad took Bergus by surprise, he knows there is little he can do about it. Facebook’s frequently updated terms of service allows the social network to use your information for such sponsored stories. Still, incidents like this will make us think twice before sharing such innuendo on Facebook.

That said, if you are wondering what one could possibly do that much lube, we do have a few suggestions.